“The land of Israel is barely mentioned in the Old Testament: the more common expression is the “Land of Canaan”. When it is mentioned, it does not include Jerusalem, Hebron or Bethlehem. Biblical Israel is only Northern Israel (Samaria) and there ever was a united kingdom including both ancient Judea and Samaria.” (Excerpt from a review of The Invention of Israel” by Schlomo Sand, Guardian 17.05.13).

As the review points out, even had such a kingdom ever existed and been promised by God to the Jews, it is a bit rich to claim it back after more than 2000 years. On that basis all sorts of people who were defeated or displaced over thousands of years could create mayhem with dubious claims to land, hard or impossible to adjudicate. Think of the Welsh, forced out of south west England, look you.

You can seize a country by force, but you have to hold it by force, and thus the moral implication is that it can, and likely will, be seized back. Try it by all means, but don’t bellyache when the inevitable occurs. Many an empire as disappeared based on force. Why is Israel any different?

Epicureanism stands for getting along together. War and conquest is unacceptable; only defence is permissable.